New concerns raised in torture probe

Prosecutor's nephew arrested alleged victim

The special prosecutor whose report detailed torture allegations against former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge had a nephew on the force who arrested one of the men who alleged he was tortured.

But Edward Egan said Saturday his nephew didn't work for Burge. The nephew, William Egan, helped arrest murder suspect Gregory Banks in 1983 while he was a tactical officer on the South Side, Edward Egan said. Banks confessed after 31 hours of questioning by Burge's detectives, but an appellate court ruled his confession was obtained through brutality.

The report, released July 19 after a four-year investigation, said Burge and detectives under his command tortured criminal suspects for two decades, coercing dozens of confessions with fists, kicks, burns and electric shock.

William Egan, now retired from the force, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Edward Egan said he disclosed his family relationship and his nephew's connection to the case to Cook County Chief Criminal Judge Paul Biebel and attorneys who had asked for the investigation. He said he told Biebel and the attorneys--Eugene Pincham, Randolph Stone and Locke Bowman--shortly after being appointed to the special prosecutor post in 2002.

"I knew this was something that would come up [after the appointment] and I better disclose it," said Egan, a former Cook County prosecutor who wrote the Burge report with fellow ex-prosecutor Robert Boyle.

Biebel said Saturday that he doesn't remember Egan telling him about his nephew but that "if he says he said it, he did."

Bowman said he recalled a conversation in which Egan referred to "having a relative in the Police Department at the time in question," but did not remember Egan mentioning anything specific. But Bowman said Saturday he was troubled by the news.

Edward Egan "was obviously plugged in and obviously didn't do an aggressive and effective job," said Bowman, who has been critical of the report. Bowman said, however, that if William Egan did not work directly for Burge, he doesn't think the connection to the case is overly important.

Flint Taylor, an attorney for Banks and other men who the report says were tortured, said Egan's connection to the case should have caused Biebel to appoint different prosecutors.

William Egan is one of nine Egan family members, starting with Edward Egan's grandfather, who have served on Chicago's police force.

William Egan could not be located for comment. A Chicago police spokesman on Saturday could not confirm his employment with the department or where he had been assigned.

Banks was released after seven years in prison when the Illinois Appellate Court ruled his confession was obtained through brutality. He was retried in 1990 but charges were dismissed. Banks later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and was paid $92,000 by the city.